Maybe it's because I love it SO much and am so enthusiastic about it, but I'm always surprised that there are still people out there (people I know!) who have never heard of tahini. If you can buy it at Trader Joe's, do you actually have an excuse? 😊

But, if this is the first you're hearing of it, tahini is simply a paste made from sesame seeds. You could make it at home with raw or toasted sesame seeds the same way you'd make a nut butter. It's delicious— toasty and rich with just a slight bitterness.

Tahini is great spread on toast instead of nut butter or as a dip for raw vegetables (or apples— personal favorite). It's also a main ingredient in hummus. In cookies, tahini is reminiscent of peanut butter. You can think of these as "grown-up peanut butter cookies," which is how Bon Appétit described them in this month's issue.

Hope you buy some tahini (or some more tahini if you're already a fan) and love it. Hope you make these cookies. They're great. They're also so simple to make, and perfect for popping in lunch bags for the work week. 👍

tahini cookiesrecipe from bon appétit magazine, sep 2017

[ makes 30 cookies ]

2 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup (170 grams) sugar

3 tablespoons (63 grams) honey

3/4 cup (192 grams) tahini

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl.

In a larger mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and honey together for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the tahini and beat until well combined. Add half of the dry ingredients, beat well, then add the rest of the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.

Scoop 1-ounce (heaping tablespoon) portions of dough onto a piece of parchment paper and roll into smooth balls. Place the toasted sesame seeds in a small bowl, and dip the top of each ball into the seeds. Set the balls 2" apart on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet or on a cooling rack.

(The bottoms of my cookies were quite done at the 10 minute mark, so I removed them from the baking sheet as soon as I pulled them out of the oven. My oven runs hot, so you may find your cookies need an extra minute or two.)